Children's Home run by Partnerships in Care 1 Limited in Gloucestershire

Inspection report for children's home: 2748083 1 Registered provider: Partnerships in Care 1 Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to five children who have experienced childhood trauma and have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since the home opened in November 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2748083 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All three children were present during the inspection and the inspector spoke with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and peaceful. Children enjoy spending time in the communal areas, where they participate in arts and crafts, baking and do their schoolwork. Children take pride in their bedrooms, which are beautifully decorated with art, photos, motivational messages and fairy lights.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home opened in November 2024 and children moved in from January 2025. Children are developing positive relationships with staff, based on trust and respect. Children are motivated to share their views, wishes and feelings because they are confident staff will listen to them and provide support that meets their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff have high expectations of children. Staff are mindful of children’s vulnerabilities. However, this does not deter them from being ambitious for children. For example, some children were disengaged from school for long periods before moving into the home. Staff have helped children return to education and the children now have career aspirations. Staff support children to secure volunteering opportunities that reflect their interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to helping children improve their health outcomes. They are honest with children about the steps they need to take to achieve good health, even when these conversations are difficult. Staff have supported one child to stop vaping by encouraging their interest in a competitive sport. They have helped another child reconsider their diet by helping them think about the energy they need to participate in activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child spoke highly of their experience of moving into the home. They explained that the transition felt easy because they had the opportunity to visit the home on numerous occasions and build relationships with staff and other children. Staff also made efforts to understand the child’s dietary requirements and the equipment they needed to continue with virtual education.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff have a good understanding of children’s lived experiences and how these influence their emotional well-being and behaviours. Staff have a nurturing approach and this encourages children to talk openly about their worries and fears. These meaningful conversations help children to develop emotional resilience and healthy coping strategies.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff work collaboratively with children to devise strategies that work for them. For example, one child was supported to devise phrases that summarise how they feel and what they need to talk about. The aim of this was to remove the burden of starting Inspection report for children's home: 2748083 3 difficult conversations from the child. However, some staff are more familiar with the phrases than others.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff take appropriate action to safeguard children during serious incidents to protect them from harm. When children are distressed and leave the home, staff follow them and encourage them to return home. They use appropriate de-escalation strategies and only use physical restraint to prevent children from harming themselves.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff help children to understand how their physical health is impacted by their behaviours and what this could mean for them in the future. They help children to work towards goals that improve their health and also reduce the likelihood of them being admitted to hospital for in-patient treatment. Staff are patient with children, while maintaining boundaries to address health concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers have developed a committed and cohesive staff team who are enthusiastic about ensuring children receive good care that helps them to make progress. Staff speak positively about the home’s culture and say managers are approachable. Parents and external professionals said they were pleased with the home because children are happy and settled.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers are aspirational for children and want to help them change their lives for the better. They set high expectations, while being mindful of children’s complex health needs. When children move into the home, they know that education, therapy and working towards good health are established expectations. Children follow these expectations because they see their peers working towards similar goals, which motivates them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are some areas for development that require managers’ and leaders’ close attention. For example, safer recruitment practices are not robust enough. Additionally, during the early stages of placement planning, managers have not consistently considered the home’s location and how this might influence children’s self-harming behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are not receiving supervision as regularly as they should, which means they do not have sufficient opportunity to reflect on serious incidents and explore any learning. Staff engage in debriefs after serious incidents. However, learning is not captured and management oversight requires strengthening. Additionally, there is some confusion among staff about where key messages and updates are recorded. Inspection report for children's home: 2748083 4

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff attend supervision in line with the time frame stipulated in the home’s statement of purpose, that learning from incidents is captured and key messages and updates are recorded. 31 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only—

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character; 31 July 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2748083 5 the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that safer recruitment procedures are followed by verification, so far as reasonably practicable, of the reason why staff’s previous employment or position ended.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that when evaluating children’s needs at the point of referral, they consider the home’s location and how this might influence children’s behaviours when they are distressed or in crisis. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.2)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children's home: 2748083 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Partnerships in Care 1 Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fifth Floor, 80 Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UD

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Inspector

Tara Webb, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2748083 7 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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